Every one of us is a block of clay, malleable and soft. I don’t believe that this changes over our lifetime – like the shaper is constantly misting the block to keep it pliable and impressionable. Maybe stretches of time harden the clay for a time, but never are we solidified to stone. Yet even stone can receive the impressions of a chisel or hammer.

Every experience we have in this life leaves some kind of impression on the surface of our being, like steps in sand or etchings in granite. I tend to take this as a reminder to remain soft and accepting. Who would want to receive the blows of a chisel when a small brush could be used instead? Life will form us as it wills, and it’s up to us how we accept the maker’s marks.

Hardening ourselves and believing that we are finished in our transformation into some thing is a recipe to be shattered upon the cliffs of change. Rather, life is best enjoyed when we can see the incoming tools of change and mist the block with acceptance.

Everything leaves an impression. Would you rather it be a fingerprint or a chipped flake?